Another 2 challenges completed – and I have to admit that I am relieved they are over! I had to take the decision to cut out my running training and do some gentle cycling in order to give my back a chance to heal otherwise I was in danger of not being able to complete either challenge; and that was never going to be an option!! I had great advice and treatment from my sports therapist and acupuncturist and, without their expertise, I am sure I wouldn’t have even made it to the start lines. So a big THANK YOU to Piers and Alex at Body & Mind Therapy Centre for ‘having my back’ as it were. I was very excited about the Humber Bridge Sportive challenge as it would be my longest ride on “Bolt” my new Cannondale Synapse road bike. Those of you who cycle will surely understand my love affair with this beautiful, sleek, speedy, beast; and those of you who don’t cycle, well you just don’t know what you’re missing! It was incredibly hot the day of the ride with temperatures reaching 34C and no cloud coverage. The scenery around Lincolnshire is beautiful but, oh what I would have given for some buildings to give us a little shade that day! The long, straight, open, country roads gave us no respite from the sun as it beat down on our poor heads. The first half of the ride wasn’t too bad and the camaraderie with the other riders was fabulous with everyone encouraging each other up the hills. As we approached the rest stop at the half-way point I realised that I had seriously under-eaten before the ride started. We had eaten breakfast at 6am before driving to Hull and it was now almost 6 hours later! As the lady at the food station handed me a drink I couldn’t hold it because I was shaking too much. Poor woman thought I was going to collapse! Luckily the food on offer was great and we quickly refuelled and hydrated before setting off on the final leg. The sun of course was now at its hottest and we limped along stopping in hedgerows whenever we spotted a patch of shade. My body temperature felt ok but the inside of my head was getting ever hotter and a couple of times I had to stop as I was almost sick. The final 5 miles were hard and I admit that I just wanted to give up; but I wasn’t allowed to. I was pushed (quite literally at times) and cajoled and encouraged and reminded why I was doing it until I finally made it back over the Humber bridge and down the road to the finish line – which was thankfully in the shade! As the finish line came into view I couldn’t believe that my brother, daughter and grandson were waving and jumping up and down and cheering us on. What an amazing sight they were! I am so grateful to them for spending hours standing in the blazing hot sun waiting for us to cross that line. I quite literally limped across the finish line – officially the last person to cross it! Although I have been reminded since that being last is not as bad as “did not finish”. The heat exhaustion was soon forgotten as we sat on the hot pavement wearing our chocolate medals and drinking champagne and plotting the next long ride. I started the next week feeling determined to get back running as it had hit me that I hadn’t done any running in 4 weeks and the Color Run was in 2 weeks’ time! Unfortunately, 24 hours after the race I realised that while I had been standing in the hedgerows trying to get out of the sun for a few minutes I had picked up what looked like a tick bite on my stomach and I had the tell-tale red bullseye rash to go with it. A quick trip to the doctor confirmed that it was indeed a tick bite and he put me on a double strength course of antibiotics for a week. Those antibiotics knocked my digestive system out of whack for 2 weeks which meant that I entered the Color Run having managed only one run in the preceding 6 weeks, not a good move for someone who is new to running. However, my running buddy, Katrina, and her friend Zoe had no intention of letting that stop us! We ran/walked the course wearing our finest tutu’s and it was a fabulous day. Warm (but thankfully not 34C) and sunny with 9,000 other people all running and walking and having fun with us. The day was very well organised and we got well and truly doused in colour and foam. I was very aware that I was holding the girls back pace-wise but they were adamant that we were a team and we would start and finish together – I am so incredibly lucky to have such awesome supporters in my corner!!! A couple of months ago my niece and her sons sent me a meerkat that they adopted from Maggie’s Highlands, to keep me company on my challenges. His name is Kando and he carried my race number on the cycle and also ran with me at the Color Run wearing his own little tutu. He is my loyal sidekick and reminds me constantly how very lucky I am and why I am doing this. I need to take this opportunity to thank Katrina, Julian, Dondy and Zoe for getting me through these last 2 challenges as I couldn’t have done it without you guys! Sponsorship currently stands at just over £600 inc gift aid so a massive thank you to everybody who has sponsored me so far. I am very excited to announce that we will be holding a fund raising open day at the Body & Mind Centre in August – details to follow soon!! Training has started for the fourth challenge which is a night swim in Salford Quays in September. I am currently learning how to swim carrying a torch……………….
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